Advanced Problems Cubed
by Hikami42
Summary: /Discontinued/ Sonic Advance 3 Adaptation. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and Cream are caught in Chaos Control and flung to places unknown. Can they manage to find each other again, find all seven Chaos Emeralds, defeat Eggman, and make it back all in one piece?
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: Sonic and all known characters belong to SEGA. The plot of Sonic Advance 3 belongs to SEGA. We are just borrowing those two awesome things to write a story. We claim no right to this story other than the fact that we wrote it and would appreciate it if you didn't steal it.**

_**PLEASE NOTE IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY: This is a Sonic Advance 3 adaptation.**_

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The sun glistened off of shining metal as it rose high in the sky. The light gleaming from the towering monstrosity was blinding to behold, yet beautiful and terrifying at the same time. What seemed like hundreds of dark openings to the base's interior lined the walls in straight line every few meters from the top. A long, slender, metal pole stuck from the very top of the place, acting as a beacon to an unknown thing. The landscape around the building was sparse, but had a small forest a short distance away. Two ears appeared over the top of a bush within said forest. A set of eyes soon followed. The eyes, showing the clearest set of emerald orbs one could ever see, wear watching the base ahead, determined and concentrated. Another set of ears peaked out from behind the bush with a resounding _pop_. The eyes shifted their gaze to the owner of the ears.

"Hush. Do you want him to hear us?" The voice was clearly male, not dropped low with puberty, but still not high pitched like a small child's. The tone had been stern, but the expression on the speaker's face was playful, letting the addressee know to not take it _too_ seriously.

"Sorry," came the reply. This new voice was also male, but higher in pitch, and clearly much younger. Two bright blue eyes showed, looking sheepish.

The green eyes rolled quickly, and one could tell that he was smiling. "What am I gonna do with you, lil' bro? You make so much noise when we're trying to be stealthy..."

A third head chose that moment to appear, albeit a short distance away. "Are you two gonna keep gabbing, or are we gonna get going?" a gruff voice asked, dripping with slight, but good natured, irritation. Indigo eyes set into a red furred skull shone with the fire of determination.

The eyes from before bobbed up and down as both shrugged their shoulders. "Dunno Knux," the voice belonged the first speaker, "depends if you can leave your rock alone long enough to get this done."

The third set of eyes now held a new flame; a sign of friendly anger. "Oh, ha ha, Sonic. It'll be fine, you know that. No one's tried to steal it for years, and almost no one knows it even exists, let alone its location," 'Knux' answered, lips on a tan furred muzzle twitching.

The figure now identified as Sonic opened his mouth to let out a witty retort, but was cut off by a different voice. "Now, now boys. We have a job today. Don't we, my darling?" Suddenly, a set of eyes appeared behind Sonic and he almost jumped out of his skin. Instead, he chose to mutter curses under his breath.

The second being giggled. "Wow, Sonic! What's got you so jumpy?" Just because he was a child genius didn't mean that he couldn't pick up a sarcastic tongue; he _did_ hang around Sonic and Knuckles – the kings of dry wit. A smirk graced his white furred muzzle, blue eyes dancing with mischief.

Sonic rolled his head around on his neck to loosen the tight muscles. "I'm just wound up because we're so close. Plus, there's the fact that _someone doesn't know the meaning of personal space_." The end of the phrase was directed at the newer member of the group.

Knuckles snickered behind his glove as the fourth member put on a mock expression of hurt. "But, Sonic, I thought you _liked_ for me to be close to you..." the new, female voice and jade eyes wavering.

Sonic held his hands out and slowly - albeit gently - pushed her away. "Not... _this_ close... I prefer for you to be at least ten feet away if possible."

"Aw, but Sonic," Knuckles cooed, putting on a sweet expression, "Amy loves you. Don't you love her back?" The red one seemed to be asking for punishment, if his antagonizing behavior was anything to go by.

Sonic's face took on a look of - almost - pure rage and he held out his hand, thumb-down in an imitation of Knuckles himself. He opened his mouth to retort, but was silenced as the blue eyed one suddenly jumped up and clapped a hand over his mouth.

The second speaker, the young Tails, suddenly leaned in and whispered, "Shh! Sonic, Cream's with us, too. Besides, replying will just make him keep going."

Sonic nodded at him once, a sharp movement of the head, before leaning back on his haunches so he was back under the bush. "You're right, kiddo. We need to get going anyway."

Tails nodded as well, satisfied that the older male was truly focused again, and leaned to the side - also hiding himself completely but in a position to address the other group members. "Alright, then. Everyone, get ready," he hissed between his teeth. Getting three nods, he turned back to Sonic. "Ready when you are, bro'!"

Sonic nodded back at him before leaning forward. "I'm gonna go scout ahead. When I signal, you guys come on." Then, he stood to his full height and sauntered out.

Tails gave a small nod, and watched his retreating form. "Get into positions, guys. Knuckles, go down... that way a bit, and you girls go the other way. Make sure to keep your eyes on Sonic, and wait for his signal. Don't get distracted. As always, we have one shot at this."

The whole group did as they were told. On her way past, the only one who hadn't spoken - Cream - smiled nervously at Tails, her Chao bobbing up and down behind her. Tails felt his heart twang a little as he noticed the small amount of fear and nervousness showing up in her expression. She was only two years younger than he, but, for some reason, he felt as if she were still too young for this.

Knuckles snuck a look at the others, then Sonic, before he dashed a few meters away to wait. He lowered himself, digging his knuclaws into the ground while waiting.

Amy hooked an arm around Cream and towed the small girl away from Tails. She didn't watch where she was going, just kept her eyes on Sonic as he darted back and forth across the desert-like ground. When she got to her designated spot, she stopped and let Cream go. They stood, hunched over, in silence as they waited for the go-ahead.

Tails tensed his muscles as he watched Sonic slow slightly. No one but him was likely to notice. "Get ready; he's getting a bit slower. Be ready for the sign," he told the others, as loud as he dared. At the three nods, he studied Sonic once more.

Suddenly, Sonic let out a shrill whistle that only a canine could hear and Tails winced uncontrollably before nodding at the others. They took his cue and darted forward, running in zigzag patterns to confuse any hiding robots waiting to attack slower opponents. Seconds later, Tails himself was up and running. After he had picked up some speed, his launched himself into the air and his spun his twin-tails around. The result was a smooth hovering motion that took years to perfect.

Sonic nodded as the others took off. He stood still, a rare oddity for him, as he waited for his partner and brother to arrive. It wouldn't take long, he knew, but after years of doing this sort of thing, he also knew that a moment such as this called for absolutely no movement. He watched as the fox took flight, still picking up speed all the while. Sonic twitched a foot with a slight impatience. As soon as Tails was close enough, the leader darted from his hiding place, going from a stand still to about 70 mph in under a second. The brothers were soon caught up, and were swiftly accelerating. They base grew nearer, and the two were almost going at near top speed. At 710 mph, it wasn't enough to break the sound barrier, but enough feel the sir split from their sheer speed. Sonic let out a small sigh in content. Running was great, even in this type of situation. He brought himself back into the present, slowing with Tails as their destination rushed to meet them.

Sometimes, it shocked Sonic that Tails could keep up - no one but the small fox could - but he always had to remind himself that Tails had something that most people didn't: flight. It was with those amazing double tails, tails the kitsune had been mocked for when he hand been younger, that he achieved flight with. Tails was probably the only person on earth who could keep up with him, and Sonic probably would've been dead or hospitalized by now if not for the kit.

As the two ran, getting slower gradually, Sonic let his mind wander with his eyes, committing the immediate are to memory. As he surveyed the nearby land, memorizing the layout at a speed only he could, an important question entered his mind. Where were all the robots? The defenses? Surely the base wasn't being left unguarded! This could only mean trouble. "Tails," he began, glancing at his closest pal, "keep a sharp eye out. We're either being expected, or he's not here, or he's being careless. Whichever it is, stay on guard."

Tails' face took on a darker expression and he nodded his head curtly that he understood. Sonic watched his younger brother as his own more mechanical based mind took in the surroundings. Tails could spot where a robot was hiding life-saving seconds faster than Sonic because he knew the tell-tale signs of a machine in hiding. A few seconds after a full sweep, Tails nodded again. "No 'bots in sight."

"Just as I thought," the hedgehog mused, eyes narrowing. "I wonder how the others are-" His thoughts were cut short as a brigade of robots came spewing from the mant dark openings in the towering base. They paid the heroes on the field no mind, however, and spread themselves everywhere. Sonic groaned. He'd hoped to stop the evil _before_ the world was infected with robots... At that moment, the sky grew a dark orange color. Upon some silent note, the two young adventurers sped up briefly, covering the gaping distance to their destination in quick burst of speed. Soon enough, they were inside the base.

They slowed to a stop as soon as they broke the threshold, knowing from experience that it was in this moment that would decide everything. If they weren't stealthy enough to make it past the first few hallways and corridors, they had no chance to make it up to the bridge and main cabin where their opponent would surely be waiting. But, as soon as they stopped moving, bullets rained down from everywhere and no where at once. Sonic grabbed Tails automatically and pulled the fox behind him as he ran to escape. But, percurily, as soon as they sped up, the guns stopped.

Sonic, not daring to slow down, sprinted in a general direction, whispering loudly to Tails, "Has anyone else made it inside yet?" He knew it wasn't very likely, but Knuckles had proven himself a rather speedy guy, himself. Sonic didn't have any doubts that the echidna would be the next one to make it in, the girls coming in third.

Tails sent Sonic a look before wrenching his wrist free of the hedgehog's hold and twisting his tails around to get airborne. Then, he risked a glance at his wrist. Strapped securely there was a wrist-watch type device, with a small screen. On the screen, there were four separate bleeps, each a different color to show each of his friends' positions. "Knuckles is crawling up the side of the base now. The girls are still in the field, but they're closing in fast. Cream's moving faster than Amy, but she's got Cheese to protect her, so I wouldn't worry too much."

The teenager nodded and scanned the walls quickly. Being used to moving at high speeds meant that his eyes were sharper than normal and were well trained to see everything in a split second. "That's odd. Everything's dormant. Nothing's moving, and there's still no defense up. What is he up to...?" he hissed, emerald eyes blazing. No matter the situation, at least he didn't have to worry about his companions. They were all strong, ready for anything, and always determined to do what was right. He couldn't ask for better peers.

Tails didn't reply to Sonic's question, just kept flying forward with one eye on where they were going, and the other on the tracker on his wrist. They went on like that for about three minutes before a loud gasp was heard and Tails dropped to the ground and skidded to a stop suddenly. Sonic twisted around violently to see what was wrong, but the kit was already next to him, grabbing his arm and pulling him down so the hedgehog was level with his upheld wrist. "Amy... Sh-she just _disappeared_!"

Sonic gasped first in shock, then again is surprise as he was suddenly being shot at again. He scooped the kitsune up and ran with him while looking at the tracker. "That's not good! What do you think could've happened to her? And what about Cream?" he questioned, trying to keep his voice and mood calm.

Tails didn't react to the smooth yet quick take off. He just situated himself so he could see his tracker while resting in Sonic's arms before replying. "Cream's still there; Cheese is off a little ways, checking something out. My only guess is that Amy somehow stumbled into a trap that she didn't see with Cream behind her. She probably lost her tracker, or it got damaged. The only way to know for sure is to find her."

Sonic sighed. He really didn't want to find Amy. If he did, she'd just get distracted and slow them down. He glanced at Tails' tracker and saw the red and tan dots, along with a much smaller light blue, signifying Knuckles, Cream, and Cheese. "I guess all that we can do for the moment is keep going and hope she's alright," he finally said, busying himself by running, holding Tails, and scanning the hallway.

The kit shared a knowing look with Sonic before looking back down at his watch. He watched carefully as the red blip moved across the upper levels of the base. Knuckles was moving quickly, and – Tails noticed – not a wall was spared in his quest to find what they were all looking for: the Chaos Emeralds.

The tan dot moved slowly for a short time and the light blue moved erratically. Obviously, Cream and Cheese had encountered some sort of trouble, though what it was, Tails didn't know. He looked up as their pace slowed slightly, and took in Sonic's concentrated expression. The kit grasped one of the arms tightly wrapped around him and gave it a reassuring squeeze. The runner didn't look down, but gave a small grin. Tails looked straight ahead, and nearly gasped when he saw a grand door in front of them. Before they could reach it, however, the floor seemed to give out beneath them.

The hedgehog and fox managed to share one look before gravity took hold of them and they plummeted, both too shocked to scream.

--

Knuckles, meanwhile, was doing exactly as the kitsune had predicted; moving quickly in a relatively straight path, knocking down every offending wall in his way. He had a look of intense concentration on his face as he called upon deeply buried Guardian instinct. With it, he would (hopefully) be able to locate the Chaos Emeralds if they were in the general vicinity. He knocked yet another obstacle from in front of him, letting it tumble to the ground with a rumbling crash. He smirked. He just _loved_ doing that.

As he smashed to his heart's content, he couldn't help but wonder how he'd been suckered into this mission. _He_ wasn't the one that had lost the emeralds... Sonic had possessed all seven at one point, but had let them slip through his fingers. And who does he call to help get them back? None other than the Guardian himself! Knuckles scoffed in the back in his throat. The _nerve_ of Sonic! He knew fully well that the echidna had a job to do, but he still had come to beg and trick Knuckles into coming... not that it was _easy_ to trick him...

Knuckles swung his fist, but stopped short as another rumbling, one _not _caused by him, sounded. He looked all around him, but couldn't place where the disturbance was coming from. He raised a hand again to smash the wall, but suddenly felt the ground shake. With a bone jarring quake, he experienced the same fate as Sonic and Tails, though _he_ was able to squeal like a little boy the whole way down.

--

Knuckles landed on something both hard and soft at the same time. His scream was cut off short as he bounced off whatever he had landed on and smacked into the ground. He laid there for a few seconds, letting his body categorize his injuries: a few bruises that would hurt in the morning, but nothing serious.

Sonic, who had the unfortunate luck to break the heavier echidna's fall, was wheezing groans on the floor, all the while trying to suck air into his uncooperative lungs. As soon as he had just enough air, he opened his mouth. "I think that might've knocked a few years off my life expectancy..." he glowered, glaring at the red furred spiny anteater.

Knuckles didn't pick his head up or reply. Just groaned in agreeance with Sonic's statement about lost years. That fall had certainly scared away a few of _his_.

Tails sighed and shook his head roughly, ears threatening to smack him in the head all the while. Well, with Knuckles now here, that makes everyone. Amy was unconscious (though from _what_ no one knew), Cream was worriedly hugging her Chao, – unhurt because Sonic had managed to catch her when she had fallen down – and he himself was sitting on the floor, checking over his tracker. It seemed to malfunction slightly, as Sonic's dot had suddenly disappeared, though he was clearly here, alive, and... almost well.

The only blip left on the screen was Knuckles', but it was getting fainter by the second. It would soon be gone, and Tails would be totally blind if they got separated again. Well, at least everyone was here. Even though _here_ was less than desirable at the moment. The room was one of the smaller ones on the base - 20 feet by 40 feet - and the walls were paneled in some type of metal. Tails had already been around the whole room, looking for ways out or weak points in the walls for Sonic to spindash, but his search had come up naught. Not that the hedgehog would be _able_ to, in this condition.

As if on cue, Sonic let out a groan to let everyone know that he still was, and probably would be for some time, in pain. Cream, being the sweet bunny she was, meandered over and laid a hand on Sonic's shoulder, Cheese hovering anxiously nearby. "Are you alright, Mr. Sonic?" She asked innocently.

Sonic opened his mouth to make a snappy retort, but then realized who he was talking to and snapped it shut. Instead, he just shook his head in reply. "I feel like I've been run over by a truck."

"Say, Sonic. If you really want to know that _feels_ like, it can surely be arranged," an obnoxiously loud voice rang out suddenly, clearly amused.

Sonic's head snapped upward and his ears flicked around toward the source of the voice before his face took on a pain filled sneer. "Really now, Doc? Well, at least it wouldn't be as painful if you _yourself_ happened to roll over me… Not that you could… It's not like you could make it out of that stupid machine."

Tails had to stifle a snicker as the aforementioned doctor's face turned beet red on the small screen that was embedded on the wall above them. Suffice to say, the stout human was probably gloating at them from a separate part of the base. Where that was, only he knew. The evil doer opened his mouth again, but was interrupted when Knuckles groaned again, managing to at least sit up.

"Anyone get the number of the truck that hit me?" He rubbed his head slowly with both eyes closed. It was obvious that Knuckles had blocked out Sonic's comment, and the only two fully injury free members of the group giggled.

After his fit of giggles subsided, Tails turned up towards the screen and glared his best at the evil one's unhappy face. "Where are the Chaos Emeralds, Eggman!?" he shouted, hands as fists.

On screen, the human's face looked off to the side and he seemed to purse his lips in thought. "Why, cub..." Suddenly, there was a bright light in front of the screen and Tails had to strain his eyes to make out whatever it is he was holding. "They're right here!"

The kitsune gasped, still straining his vision, and looked around the small room. Amy was slightly groaning, Cream hovering beside her. Knuckles was slowing standing, albeit he was wobbly, and Sonic was still on the floor, seething with dislike, not at all worried or frightened, but more than a little pissed.

"What do you…plan to…do with them…Eggman?" The feeble voice came from the direction of Knuckles and Tails spun around just in time to see Knuckles take a few shaky steps forward. Unfortunately, his intended path went right through where Sonic was laying, so he was forced to stop before he tripped over the still comatose hedgehog.

For the stop, Tails was glad. He didn't want to have to deal with an argument. _Especially_ not in this base.

Amy chose that moment to suddenly feel a whole lot better and shout, "You better not be up to something, 'cause it's never gonna work!" Tails just about facevaulted. Of course he was up to something, and he'd be _damned_ if the vile man got away with it.

Eggman shook his head up on the screen. "I'm afraid, child, that it's too late. It's already been done."

Amy surged to her feet, hammer in hand (and Tails had to wonder just where it had come from), a glare on her face. "Oh, yeah?" She swung her hammer. "We'll just see about that!" she growled.

Eggman rolled his eyes as the image of Amy greeted him. "We'll see indeed. Because, in just a few seconds, I will hit this switch and you will all be obliterated. The only piece left to be placed is the last emerald, and I happen to have it right here next to me…" As if to gloat in their faces, he held up the green emerald before placing it into its designated slot and closing down the clear lid.

Sonic, completely unnoticed by everyone except for Tails, had slowly gotten up, and was creeping towards a relatively small opening in the wall (which had somehow escaped everyone's vision, excluding himself). As soon as he'd gotten past the supposed door frame, he broke into a sprint, gradually picking up speed and covering the distance to where he thought Eggman was in mere seconds. Tails followed after, thanking Chaos that he could keep up, speeding up and slowing down in time with the hedgehog. Shortly thereafter, they made it to their apparent destination. Tails dropped to the ground, staying hidden and out of sight, but keeping Sonic within his vision. The blue one sensed the feeling of being watched, but was too focused to care. He just wanted to take the human out.

Back in the other room, Knuckles was fully standing again; having gotten over the bulk of his injuries by channeling his energy the way he had been taught when he had been younger. He planted his feet and glared up at Eggman with defiant eyes. "What exactly are you planning to do, Eggman?" Knuckles had noticed Sonic's disappearing act, and wanted to buy the speedster some time, if only to make up for landing on him.

The doctor let out a mad chuckle, oblivious to the secret attack being planned right under his nose. Instead, he gave a large smirk and gazed hatefully down at the sapient echidna while smoothly replying. "Isn't it obvious, my dubious adversary? I'm going to establish the Eggman Empire! All I have to do is eliminate you and your companions!"

Knuckles smirked, "And how exactly do you plan to do that?" Hopefully, Sonic was close enough to hear Eggman rat himself out and would be able to dispatch him quickly.

"Hehehe. My dear Knucklehead, I plan to use _Chaos Control_!" the crazed man exclaimed, revealing a large red button on his panel.

Knuckles put on a dumb expression. "Chaos Control?"

Eggman growled under his breath, grin faltering before once again speaking. "Yes, Chaos Control, you foolish oaf!" His hand inched closer to the button.

"Hey! Where's Sonic?!" Amy's voice cut Knuckles' reply to being called an "oaf" short and he almost immediately slapped his forehead without thinking.

Sonic could've facevaulted. From his hiding place, he could tell that Knuckles was trying to subtly help (for which he was glad), but (once again), Amy ruined his plan. So much for the element of surprise. He just hoped that the egghead didn't turn around and notice his hiding place.

Actually, Eggman did the total opposite. He leaned forward, toward his own screen, to scan the room and make sure all his prisoners were accounted for. After only counting three - he had been positive there were five - he sat back quickly. "Where's Sonic, and that pet fox of his?!"

I'm right _here_, Eggman!" Sonic exclaimed pushing himself off from his temporary shelter. Emerald eyes shining and a smirk on his face, he then said one of the most clichéd lines amongst heroes. (Not that he really cared; after all, he found a private amusement in the words.) "You'd better give it up, Eggman, 'cause I'm gonna take you down!"

Eggman reacted almost automatically. Before even turning to see Sonic, he scrambled to press all the correct buttons to get the machine ready. Once he was satisfied, he spun. "And what makes you think you can outwit a genius such as myself?"

"Um..." he began, faking a thoughtful expression, "maybe because I've been doing it for years? Oh, and the fact that we have out own genius on the team (who apparently followed me here...)?" The last part was aimed at Tails, who had continued to hide even after Sonic revealed himself. The kitsune stepped up next to Sonic, sheepish grin on his face.

"Sorry," was the only word that escaped from Tails, even though he was practically glowing from the praise Sonic had given him.

While he was sure the spiky blue pest was distracted, Eggman leapt from his seat and was hovering over the large red button on his control panel. A scowl on his face, he reached out with one finger. Before pressing down, he opened his jaws and spoke one last line. "Goodbye, Sonic. I hope to _never_ see you, again! It's been a _real blast_!" with that said, the scientist faced the screen's direction, and firmly mashed the button.

From where he was standing, things seemed to slow down for Sonic. His mind kicked into overdrive as his heart pounded roughly to kick up the adrenaline levels in his blood and he quickly categorized the problems in front of him.

The room was then filled with an anomalous light, and the feeling of the air being warped around them was present. To the hedgehog, he knew this eerie light was the byproduct of Chaos Control. He swung his head towards six of the seven Chaos Emeralds, sitting safely in a glass case, then to the doctor, grinning madly as he watched his enemy's usually perfectly calm and carefree demeanor shatter slightly. Who knew where they would be sent with this blast?

Then there was Tails. Next to him, the fox was quivering violently, his tails firmly lodged between his legs and his ears pressed so hard into his skull Sonic thought they would leave a permanent indention. It was very likely that they would both get flung to different pieces of the world, never to see each other again.

The teenaged hero immediately dropped down and wrapped his body around the fox, intending to shield the little one from the bulk of the blast. There was the sound of an explosion, a shocked exclamation, and three more screams of surprise. "Don't worry. I won't let you get hurt," Sonic mumbled to the terrified and trembling fox cub. Then, all was silent and still.

When Sonic opened his eyes again – having not really realized that they had been locked shut – he found himself in a whole different place. The huge machine and base of Eggman's was gone replaced with a blue sky and a wide open space. Ahead, Sonic could see platforms and springs. In his arms, Tails shivered before looking up at him, fright and undeniable trust shining in his eyes. In his head, Sonic couldn't help but be thankful that Tails was still with him. Suddenly, the effects of Chaos Control caught up with his body and his knees buckled. Luckily, the hedgehog managed to twist his body so he didn't land on Tails, but, he blacked out before he hit the ground. Only one thought ran through his mind before he lost consciousness:

_Where are we?_

* * *

_AN: _

_In case you didn't catch this at the top, this story is being written by two people. The story behind its conception is simple: We were bored, hadn't seen any good – or finished – GBA adaptations, and decided to do one ourselves. _

_This whole chapter is the prologue. Yes, we realize it's really, unrealistically long, but we couldn't cut it up to make it suspenseful, tell all the stuff you needed to know, and make it so the first chapter started where the game picks up. _

_Of course, we took a creative license with the beginning. This mainly because the opening screen only shows a few vague things: Chaos Control, and Sonic and Tails running – mostly unchallenged – towards what can be assumed to be Eggman's base. We could go into more detail with why we chose the things we did for the beginning, but it would make this AN too long. _

_This post is mainly a tester, a pilot if you will, to see if people will read the story. If you enjoyed it, drop us a line. We'll try to reply. If you caught something wrong with it, tell us; we'll be sure to fix it. We're both open for criticism and actually welcome it with open arms, so please, let us know how we're doing. _

_Basically, what this all boils down to is:_

_REVIEW! _

_Oh, and if you have a better title for us, that would be lovely. We're horrible with titles... and summaries for that matter... _


	2. Chapter 1: Exploring

**Jeeze guys, sorry we're so late… **

**The past few months have not been kind and we've barely had time to write. But, luckily, the time we actually got to talk, we worked on theory and plot for this story. Now, we're pretty sure we've got the plot set; we just need to work on the character development… X/ It also doesn't help that we're working on another fanfiction. (It's in the Sonic fandom.) It's in its planning stages at the moment. Check out the profile for details! (Yes, that is what we call a selfless plug.) **

**Disclaimer: Look back at the last chapter. **

**Chapter 1: Exploring**

**--**

When Tails woke up again, the sun was just rising in the east. The morning sky was orange and pink and flickies were chirping as they soared through the air. The fox opened his eyes a crack, then shut them again quickly at the brightness. Quickly, he counted to ten while waiting for the bright spots to disappear before easing open the bright blue orbs until he could keep them open without difficulty. As he looked around unfamiliar territory, he attempted to get up – only to find that he was held tight in Sonic's iron grip. It was obvious to the younger of the duo that his older brother had gabbed onto him just before the blast of Chaos Control could affect him very much. The kitsune sat still for a few more minutes to think of a way to escape the hedgehog's "loving hold".

Eventually, he decided that the best way to get out without risking serious injury from the blue one's spines was to un-wedge his tails first, so he would have breathing room. Then, it would just be the simple matter of sliding out.

After a few minutes of frantic struggling, the kit was able to free his two fluffy namesakes. He looked into the face of the blue blur and stopped for a second to smile at him, grateful the two of them were still together and both safe. Tails considered making himself comfortable again and waiting until Sonic woke up, but tossed the idea out when he realized he was already uncomfortable.

Situating himself so he was able to wrap both tails around either of Sonic's legs, he used the hedgehog's own weight against him as he pulled himself free. He slid carefully over Sonic's tan stomach and popped out from under his arms ungracefully, his fur sufficiently fluffed from friction. His childish side was slightly disappointed when the speedster's arms fell onto his stomach once Tails was out of the way and didn't stay in their loop, but he shook it off before standing and looking around again for a better look.

The fox looked in every direction. Straight in front was a path that looked to be made of stone or even metal. The path in front of him seemed to stop dead at the flat face of a cliff or possibly a platform made of the same material. There was a dark bit of path sitting directly in front of the wall that seemed breakable. He turned his head to see grass on one side of the path and a steep fall on the other. The grass was flat and smooth for a stretch before sloping sharply downwards, coming to a stop on a sandy miniature lakefront beach.

A few yards behind him was the real sight though. Just floating there, was a huge power ring. The gold circlet was spinning in quick circles, making Tails feel all the sicker the more he looked at it. Just in front of it on the ground was a small creature that resembled a Chao. Its yellow eyes stared blankly forward, and it had no mouth. Instead of a small bulb, a propeller spun on its head, moving almost in synch with the ring.

A look of curiosity crossed the kitsune's face and he took a few tentative steps towards the strange creature. Ignoring the spinning ring, he stood beside the Chao-like thing. Though it looked like a live being, upon closer examination, it looked like it was put together with screws and metal of two different shades of blue. The eyes were flashing as well, alerting Tails the there was some sort of activity inside the thing's mind or circuits or whatever. A little voice inside his head told him to touch it, and listening to this inner thought without question, he scooped the Chao-thing up with both hands.

As his hands grabbed the sides and he lifted it into the air, Tails felt a small button compress under his gloved fingers. Suddenly, the world seemed to freeze as a voice with a strangely foreign accent emanated from the head of the creature. Around him, the whole world froze and Tails felt his fur rise as he realized that the thing had him some kind of hold. His sense were blocked off, his eyes the only things working. His nose caught no smells and his fingers didn't even feel the cool metal of the Chao through his gloves. The only thing Tails could hear was its slightly male voice and his eyes stared forward, unseeing. "This is a 'factory ring'. You can move between Zones and visit the Chao Garden in there." As soon as it had said its piece, sound came rushing back like a tidal wave and Tails almost dropped the Chao to cover his sensitive ears. Before placing it onto the ground though, the fox got one good look at it. On the underside was the word "Omochao" etched clearly in blocked letters.

Tails had half a mind to kick the thing as hard as possible for making him feel so venerable, and he was just about to bend down and attack it with his screwdriver when a small shuffled from behind reminded Tails of Sonic's presence. The hedgehog was still unconscious, oblivious to what was going on around him. Tails continued in the other direction, passing Sonic and walking towards the breakable block and the platform wall. Another Omochao sat ahead, it's flashing eyes showing activity.

Tails took his time picking this one up, looking for the button that would trigger it. He was hesitant to push the button and go back into that state, but he was too curious to see what this one had to say. After locating it, he prepared himself before pressing the bulge. Almost immediately the world was blocked out. It was almost like someone had stuffed cotton into his ears - he could still hear small noises, but not a lot permeated through. "Try jumping here. The path looks unstable." Tails shook his head as his senses came back online and he put the Chao down with contempt. It seemed the Omochaos were going to become the bane of this eight year old existence. He already had Sonic to state the obvious...

Surprising a sigh, Tails looked down at the block. It was a dark gray, and when the fox leapt onto it, it cracked ever so slightly. After jumping a couple more times, Tails grinned. This was actually sort of fun! He gave another jump, and his fun ended when the block abruptly shattered, spilling Tails onto the ground below. He hit the ground in an almost feet-first position, but still managed to hit his skull on the ground. He lay at the bottom of the short cliff only moaning slightly.

The two-tail had no idea he long he had lain there, but when he picked his head up again, his shadow was a few inches longer. He estimated about thirty minutes had passed. Quickly, he shook off his injury and sat up slowly. Ahead there was a seemingly flat expanse of path and Tails was tempted to go further, but he knew that Sonic wouldn't approve of him wandering too far. Promising himself that he would explore later, he sent his tails into a mad spin to get airborne before flying back up to where he had come from.

Upon quickly reaching the top, he discovered that Sonic had not moved at all. Rolling his eyes, he thought to devise a plan to wake his not-so-responsible-guardian up. Remembering the lake he had seen earlier that morning, a devious smirk crept onto his face, and he flew down towards the lakefront.

Dropping down right next to the water, Tails pulled off his gloves, shoes, and socks, deposited them a few feet from the water, flew up a few feet, and dove in - the water barely rippling. He stayed under as long as possible before resurfacing and swimming to shore. He sluggishly pulled himself out of the water, his fur soaked through, and he had to refuse the urge to shake himself dry. Instead, he flew back up to the path and unconscious hedgehog. Being as silent as possible, he touched down and padded over to his brother before smiling stupidly. "WAKE UP!" His yell pierced the silence of the world around him, but Sonic didn't stir. Tails shrugged, his mind already made up, and he dropped down onto his hands so he was on all fours.

Then, he promptly shook himself dry right beside Sonic.

The results were instantaneous. Sonic's eyes shot open, and his jaws spread wide. He let out a loud cry of alarm and terror as he involuntarily leapt into the air. He looked around frantically, trying to spot the source of the dreaded water. When he set his eyes on Tails, his green orbs narrowed. Shaking his hands and head to be free of the liquid, he let out a small growl. "Tails! Wha'd ya do that for! That scared the hell outta me! You know I hate water!"

Tails, standing with one toe digging into the ground and still dripping, looked up at Sonic with an innocent expression on his face. "Do what?"

Sonic placed fists on his hips, but his expression didn't change. "Splash me with water! _That's _what you did!"

Tails looked around him, glancing at the puddle of water forming around his feet with contempt before looking back up to Sonic with a cute expression. "What water? I dun see any wa'er, Sonic."

Sonic continued glaring, but shook his head and got up. As soon as he got to his feet, he pulled off his glove with a sloshing sound. He then proceeded to twist the white fabric around in front of the fox's face until all the water was wrung out. Lowering and replacing the glove, Sonic cocked an eye ridge. "No water, huh?"

Tails stared at Sonic's glove with a face akin to shock. "I thought you didn't like water Sonic..."

With a flat look on his face, the hedgehog spoke with a lofty voice, "No, Tails, I don't. In fact, I hate it. A lot."

Tails' eyes got small to match his companion's. "Then why do you carry it around with you in your gloves?"

With a heavy sigh, Sonic closed his eyes and decided to stop encouraging the stupid little game. "Tails," he began with another sigh and a groan, "_why_, may I ask, did you _purposely_ splash water on me?"

Tails' eyes took on a watery look as he gazed up at Sonic, his ears pressed back. Suddenly, he surged forward and wrapped his arms around Sonic's waist, getting the hedgehog wetter in the process. "I'm sorry, Sonic. But you wouldn't get up, and you were sleepin' for a _long_ time, and I found this really weird Chao-thing that I wanted to show you, and I wanted to explore more but I knew you wouldn't like it if I went to far, an'... How come you wouldn't get up when I yelled?"

Sonic's heart melted and his stern demeanor vanished almost instantly. He placed one hand in Tails' head and the other on his back, making small circles with both index fingers. "Well, kiddo, we just got caught up in Chaos Control, and you know how that works as much as I do. And while I'm glad you didn't wander off somewhere, there should have been some _other_ way to wake me up!"

Tails picked his head up from where he had squashed his face into Sonic's stomach. "I tried yellin', and you didn't get up. I didn't want to hit or kick you because that might hurt you - or me. The water seemed like the best way. Besides, Knuckles told me that if yelling didn't work, water would be the best way to get you up."

Sonic's face went flat again. "Knuckles said that, huh?" he drawled. "Well, that echidna's going to have some explaining to do when we find him again..." After a moment of silence, Sonic finally asked, "So, what's that I heard about a weird Chao?"

Tails' face lit up and he pushed himself away from Sonic, the prospect of showing the hedgehog something cool and unusual making the past few minutes disappear from his mind. The fox quickly pointed toward the Omochao ahead of them before dragging Sonic toward it.

Sonic stood before the robot Chao. "What is it?"

Tails shrugged. "I dunno. It's called an Omochao. When you picked it up -" Suddenly, Sonic swooped down and picked up the Chao, his whole body becoming rigid as its effects took him over. "- that happens."

After the wave of consciousness came over Sonic, he looked around and finally down. "Um... Three things. One, what just happened? Two, where did that voice come from? And three, try jumping _where_?"

Tails shrugged again. "The Omochao talked to you. From its head. I already kinda knocked the block down."

The blue one shook his head. "Mega weird. I hate to ask this, but, uh, are there any _more_ of these crazy machines?"

"Yeah, back there." After nodding, Tails turned and pointed back at the first Omochao and the big gold circlet spinning above it.

Sonic's look was priceless. An expression of shock, confusion, and annoyment played an interesting pattern on his face. "Oh, well, that's just great. If there's only two here, I'd say that there's about nine more out there. Just _freakin'_ great." He gave another sigh.

"Huh?" Tails looked at Sonic with a confused expression on his face.

Sonic gave Tails a blank stare. "Guesstimation."

Tails nodded, still confused. "Okay." He knew better than to question Sonic further. If he did, it would lead to either a really long speech or a look that said _you-should-know-me-well-enough-to-understand-what-I'm-talking-about_.

"Yeah, well, anyway, we better-" Sonic froze, and stared straight ahead. "What's that?"

Tails followed the blue one's gaze. "That's a factory ring. You can apparently move between Zones and visit the Chao Garden in there."

Sonic nodded and moved towards it. "Cool. Hm... I wonder..." With that though, he gave a great jump and went through the center of the ring, causing both of them to disappear from sight.

--

The creature gave a jolt, and bright indigo eyes opened sharply. The first thing the animal noticed was that he was bound and gagged trapped in a dark place on a hard floor. Captured. Of _course_. _Why didn't he expect this!?_ He shouted mentally. He struggled profusely, but his efforts were in vain. His couldn't escape, and what was worse was that his gloved fists were trapped separately to prevent him from getting free. Sighing as best he could while gagged, he closed his eyes again and growled quietly to himself.

--

"Disappointing," Sonic mumbled as he was launched out of the ring. There had been nothing inside the circlet except a Chao Garden and some weird looking tube things. Tails had shrugged them off as nothing, but Sonic had been more interested. Unfortunately, when he tried to jump into the end, nothing happened.

He landed on the ground running and kept up the natural momentum right up until he fell down the newly made hole in the road. He skidded to a stop a few feet away and glanced backward to see Tails come hurtling toward him.

As soon as the fox collided with the hedgehog, they started to roll, head over heels, until they smacked into another wall. Sitting up and rubbing their heads, they saw that they had passed a red-orange... _thing_ on the side of the path. The top looked like a spring, but it was stuck in place. As the duo looked back the way they had come, they saw another strange sight – in the form of a giant button type thing, beside it another Omochao. Sonic lay his head back down while Tails went over to the button.

Sparing Sonic barely a glance - the hedgehog was firmly faceplanted and moving his head back and forth in a short shake, mumbling something incoherent - Tails jumped on the button, having seen them many times in the different Zones he and Sonic had visited. As soon as it was compressed, a strange beeping came from the button and the spring jumped into the perfect position for them to get airborne.

Sonic's head jolted upwards. "Huh?" he asked, seeing the spring. He jumped to his feet, and looked over his shoulder. Tails was running up fast, getting ready to bounce on the spring. The hedgehog stepped away slightly and watched as the kitsune sprung off of it and landed lightly on the next level. Sonic gave a small grin. Backing up a few paces, he ran up and jumped on the spring.

At the highest point of the jump, Sonic used his natural momentum to push himself to the left a little and onto the edge jutting out right above the spring. It seemed that this place was put together in a building block type style, with each level placed right on top of the other. As he came back down, he bent his knees to land smoothly.

Tails waited until Sonic had joined him before moving forward. "C'mon!" he shouted, taking a few steps along the path. "I saw a town a short distance away!"

Sonic rolled his eyes at his little brother's enthusiasm, but didn't say anything as he sped up to catch the fox. Unfortunately, before the hedgehog could stop him, the kit had grabbed hold of something and was lifted upward.

Sonic jolted to a stop and watched at Tails was lifted out of view. Soon, the handle came back down. Giving a nod, he grabbed onto the lift and rode it to the top.

When he reached the summit, he jumped up onto the next platform, almost squashing Tails in the process. Setting the fox with a look that said _do-that-again-and-I'll-kill-you_, Sonic peered toward the horizon. "I see the town too. Maybe they have a few rings to spare."

The Power Rings were a well known thing around Mobius. Many Mobians saw them on a daily basis, because they were scattered around almost all of the Zones. Most normal Mobians couldn't touch the rings and would just go right through them because they were made of pure Chaos Energy. Only people used to and able to use the Energy could touch the rings, but when they did, the rings vanished. Recently, a new technology had emerged though, and it made regular Mobians able to grab and store the rings.

Most of the Mobians used special Chaos Gloves that allowed them to grab the rings and they kept rings in storage sorted into boxes of ten. The boxes were the best and only storage for these Power Rings. The rings themselves were used for protection. They reacted badly around most machines.

Tails nodded, a big grin on his face. "Maybe! C'mon, Sonic!" he exclaimed, twirling his tails and zooming towards the small suburb. Sonic groaned to himself before taking off after the fox. He would have to have a talk with his brother soon. It had been a while since they went on an adventure together, mainly because they usually got separated, but that didn't mean the kitsune could just take off. Sonic felt his protective instincts well-up inside him and he bolted forward to stop in front of Tails.

As Sonic rushed forward to stop Tails, he caught sight of the town; he gasped and put a hand out for Tails to stop. Upon receiving a questioning glance, he point to the town. Tails gave a gasp to match Sonic's own. Neither expected the sight ahead of them.

**--**

**There you go. This chapter turned out pretty good, but we've written better. This is mainly because this chapter was written over a span of 2 months, and as such probably seems detached… **

**Now… Please review! Please?! C'mon. We held up our side of the deal and updated. We expect more than two reviews this time… -_-**

**Review! **


	3. Chapter 2: In Town

**We're back with a new chapter! (It only took, like, **_**forever**_**, we know.) **

**Hope ya's enjoy. We had to change the rating because Sonic became a dramatically awesome potty mouth. (Only for a few lines, but enough to constitute a rate change.) (We would say '**_**BAD SONIC**_**!' if it didn't sound so awesome.)**

**So, here it be! **

**Enjoy!**

**(NOTE!: Chaos Ring equals Power Ring.)**

--

Sonic stared at the town in shock. Never in all his life had he seen a place so messed up with people still living in it. "W-wow…" he breathed shakily. "What… What happened here?"

"Oh!" a random passerby with a hat, jacket, and backpack exclaimed, catching the tail end of Sonic's question. "There was an earthquake. Kind of random, actually. This Zone's not prone to 'quakes."

Sonic stared at the Mobian briefly before shaking his head. It had to be at least 90 degrees outside at this moment. "Um, well… Thanks, I guess…"

"No problemo!" the stranger called back as he threw a smile over his shoulder.

"Sonic… What should we do…? Should we go help them…?" Tails asked timidly from where he was hiding behind Sonic, clutching the hedgehog's hand like a lifeline.

"Um, sure kiddo. That sounds like a great idea. Maybe we should scout out for a grocery store, first." He paused, contemplating his next sentence. "H-Have you ever seen anything like this before?" he asked, sweeping his hand in the general direction of an upturned hovercar.

Tails wandered around the car, wondering who it belonged to. "It used to flood in Emerald Hill Zone all the time. I would always get soaked."

Sonic shuddered. He knew perfectly well what wet fox smelled like. Not. Pretty. Nodding his head, he watched Tails scramble his way under the car. Flooding was a problem in Zones surrounded by water, and Green Hill was one of the worst. It was almost completely cut off from the rest of the Zones, not to mention in a valley and slightly below sea level…

"Hey! Sonic! There's someone in here!" Sonic's head snapped up at Tails' voice.

"There are?" he exclaimed, dashing over.

"Yeah! Get some help! You're not exactly very strong in the upper body area!" Tails shot back, turning to comfort the little figure in the back seat.

Instead of choosing to be offended, Sonic swung his head around to look for someone to help. Catching sight of the stranger from before (who was helping an old man chase down his runaway cabbages), he called out, "Hey, pal, little help here?"

Glancing up, the figure stopped and slowly nodded in his direction before scooping up the rest of the vegetables and dropping them into the cart. Bidding the man farewell, he jogged his way over, red shoes slapping the ground loudly. "Yeah? What'cha need?"

"There's people trapped in there. Can you help us lift the car up?" Sonic asked, gesturing over to where Tails' namesakes were waving like a distress signal.

"Sure thing, bud," the other Mobian grinned again.

Sonic turned. "Hold on a supersonic second. I'll get some more people to help." He spun on his heel and ran off.

--

When he returned – without any additional help (_That last couple was ruuuude…)_ – he was surprised to find Tails standing next to the now right side up hovercar, holding a softly whimpering female pup. Her parents were laid out at his feet, unconscious. "Who was that?" Tails asked with something akin to awe.

"Um, I have no idea; why?" Sonic cocked his head curiously.

"He lifted the whole car himself! It was AMAZING!" Tails looked as if he would've jumped up and down in excitement had he not been holding a small child.

At that point, the mother, a pretty beagle, blinked and lifted her head. "Oh… What happened…?"

"Earthquake, ma'am," Tails related, passing the woman her daughter.

"Oh, my…" she murmured, taking the pup carefully and gratefully. "How long ago…?"

"Oh, um…" Tails glanced at Sonic, who shrugged. "Well, I'd say it happened a few hours ago."

"Thank you so much. Both of you." She stood up slowly. "If my husband doesn't wake soon, I'll get him to the hospital."

"You're welcome. Well, we've gotta get going now. Have a nice day!" Sonic called out, pulling Tails close to him before taking off.

"Such nice boys. Never got their names, though," she mused as she turned and rubbed the man's hand.

"Bye, S'nic! Bye, Tails!" the child called out to the chuckling brothers a few yards down the road.

The woman gave a double take as the duo sped off.

--

As they finally walked into town, Tails detached himself yet again. "Hardware store…! Look like they could use help!" He yelled over his shoulder as he threw open the door to said store and disappearing inside.

Sonic shook his head at his little brother's enthusiasm before continuing forward into town. The place was a mess. There were cracks in the asphalt and sidewalk, there was a light pole lying in the street, and most of the shops that lined the roads were closed and one look in the window revealed why. Merchandise littered the floor of all the stores and employees were moving around frantically inside to get everything back where it belonged.

Sonic continued forward without breaking stride at any particular store. Most seemed to be novelty shops – showcasing things tourists would buy with their bulging wallets. The hedgehog quickly passed by these, none of their items even remotely useful to him, and stopped at a small building on the corner.

The name was simple enough; _Jane's Country Market_ was proclaimed to the rest of the world silently in fading letters. Inside, there was an assortment of fruits and vegetables scattered along the floor, but, Sonic noticed, most of the produce had managed to stay inside the wicker baskets along the shelves. It seemed that this shop had faired better than the rest. Quickly, sparing the _Closed_ sign on the door barely a glance, Sonic ducked inside.

Above him, the door chimed to alert the owners of the shop of a customer and a loud crash came from the back room behind the counter. Sonic cringed slightly as a rude explicit sounded after the crash died down before a female voice called out. "Be with you in a minute!"

Sonic chuckled quietly to himself before shaking his head. He opened his mouth to reply back to the woman, but a small giggle from behind the counter stopped him. "April funny," a small, young voice said carelessly.

A young rabbit toddled her way out into Sonic's view, a little unsteady on her feet. Her face was turned toward the floor, staring at her feet as she attempted to walk, and she was clad in a t-shirt and diaper. Every few seconds she would stare backward toward the back room, as if waiting for whoever was back there to appear any time and scold her.

Sonic laughed; it seemed she was a seasoned failed escape artist.

At the hedgehog's laugh, the girl looked up, her face already fallen at being caught so quickly. But, as her eyes landed on him, taking in his sparkling green eyes and blue complexion, she let out a giggle of happiness before waddling her way toward him.

Sonic chuckled again, staying where he was so the girl wouldn't get discouraged. She made her way slowly, but with purpose. She was determined to get to him, and he was determined to let her reach him.

Halfway across the floor however, she stumbled and fell. Almost instantly, she let out a loud keen and there was the sound of a box being dropped in the back room. The pair of feet were heard running and suddenly there was a new girl in the room. She scooped up the smaller child with barely a glance at Sonic and muttered a comforting coo toward her.

"Lucy, what have I told you about walking out here in the front room?"

The little child – Lucy – didn't respond to the inquiry, just buried her face in the new arrival's neck. The older girl smiled slightly at her before marching her way back towards the room behind the counter. After setting the toddler down, the girl started back towards the other room.

"I'll be right back. I have to put all the Ring Boxes on the shelf. They were knocked over and one of them opened during the quake."

Sonic tried to respond, but she was gone again.

The girl had been a rabbit like the child, but with the obvious budding qualities of a woman. She was still half way between childhood and adolescences, but she would be very pretty one day.

"Okay. Now, my name is April," the girl muttered as she backed out of the room, closing the door behind her and backtracking through the store so she was standing behind the counter. She absently opened the cash register and started counting the money under her breath. "What did you say you needed?"

"I didn't." Sonic answered as he marched his way up to the counter. He watched as his answer passed over her head and rested his elbows onto the wood. "I was wondering if you had any spare rings."

She didn't look up as she answered. "We don't sell rings here. There's a jeweler a few stores over if you're that desperate."

"Chaos rings?"

This time, she did look up, with a sharp flick of the head. Her eyes widened as she took in his smirking face and her mouth opened and closed in a brilliant expression of a fish. "S-Sonic?"

He smiled slightly at her squeaked question. "The one and only."

She stumbled backward as she finally regained control over her face and she fell into a chair behind her. "Woah." There was a long pause as she stared at him and he attempted to not act awkward. "W-what," she asked as soon as she was done staring, "are you doing here?"

Almost absently, he jumped up onto the counter and twisted around so he was facing her. His sneakered feet swung back and forth and she watched them with something akin to awe, her eyes moving back and forth with each swing. "Seeing the sights. Anything I should check out?"

She stared at him dumbfounded. "Really?" Her tone was incredulous and she raised her eyebrows. It seemed as if she was coming out of her spell.

His legs stopped midswing, and he stared at her. "Well, that's more believable than what really happened."

"And what's that?"

"Well… Robotnik built a machine that malfunctioned and transported us here." He paused. "By the way, where _is_ here anyway?"

"Route 99." At his stare she elaborated. "It used to be a huge racing centered Zone, but then they built Starlight Zone on South Island, and everyone moved there. The only people left are the shop owners and the tourists."

"Oh." His answer was short and he shook his head. "I've been to Starlight Zone; it's overrated."

"Hmm." She hummed. "Strange. Aren't you _from_ South Island?"

"So?"

"It's strange that you're putting down one of the Zones on your own island, is all."

"I repeat: so?" Sonic jumped to the ground and skipped his way toward the back room. "How many Ring Boxes you got?"

"Depends. How many do you want?"

Before he could answer – he was starting to get irked at the constant interruptions – the front door chimed again. A young boy, also a rabbit, scampered his way into the store, took one look at Sonic, dropped the wrapped package he was holding – which made a mysterious crunching noise – and did his own impression of a fish.

Sonic stared at him, wondering if all of these people belonged in the water, before extending his hand. "Hey, I'm Sonic. Nice to meet'cha."

"T-t-t-to…" The boy was speechless.

Sonic, who had dealt with this type of situation before, attempted to alleviate some of the tension. "You're name is Ta-ta-ta-to? Is that Morse Code for something?"

Almost immediately, the boy blinked and heat rushed to his face. "N-no," he answered. (Internally, Sonic congratulated himself for getting him out of his dreamlike state.) "My name is Tobias."

"Well, it's great to meet you Tobias. Now, are you going to shake my hand, or are you gonna let my arm just hang there like a wet noodle?"

Sonic didn't think the boy's face could get any redder than in that moment, but it cleared as soon as he had grabbed Sonic's gloved hand. "W-what are you doing here?"

Sonic blinked. "Why does everyone ask me that?" He paused. "Tails and I got transported here via Chaos Control. I've been unconscious for about a day. Tails actually ended up scouting ahead for a few hours before managing to wake me – quite rudely, might I add."

"Tails is here?" The boy's eyes lit up and he glanced quickly at his sister. "I've been out in town all day, how come I haven't seen him?"

"We just got here, about fifteen minutes ago. He disappeared into a hardware store three feet into town, and he wouldn't wander too far away from me when I'm out cold." He paused before stooping down and grabbing up the white package the boy had dropped before passing it over. He turned back towards April. "About those Ring Boxes…"

--

With a heave, both Sonic and Tobias managed to get the third and final Box onto the counter. All three were blue with a large red button on top and a small red trapdoor on the bottom in case the button stuck. On front was a large number ten in the center of a gold ring. It was obvious what these held.

"These all you got?" He asked kindly, staring at the Box almost lovingly. "Tails and I could use all the protection we can get."

April shook her head. "Our father sent a shipment of rings to the stock hold in Green Hill Zone; we used to have at least three hundred rings back there. I just picked up all of these this morning before the quake."

"Good thing too," Tobias continued. "All the others have seemed to disappear. It's strange."

Sonic pursed his lips while staring towards the Boxes. "Not really. With 'Buttnik around, nothing's strange."

"Do you think that he'd be _collecting_ the rings? Don't they hurt his robots?"

Sonic nodded and put on what he dubbed his 'Tails voice'. "Yes, but he can pull the energy from the rings, filter out the pieces that react badly with electricity, and use it to power some of his bigger mechs."

"Then why doesn't he do that for all of his machines?"

Sonic shrugged. "Too time consuming. He'd just rather catch people, stick them inside, and have them power the robots. It's less costly, and it instills fear in the masses."

"What exactly do the rings do?" Tobias asked, perching himself onto the counter in a similar fashion as Sonic had been earlier.

Sonic, who realized that he was being interrogated, shrugged again. "Protection mostly. If Tails or I touch a 'bot, then we won't get hurt. The rings set up a mini-shield for a split second if we are in danger. But, this causes them all to rematerialize and fly away from us. Sometimes, we manage to get a few back, but never grab all of them."

April nodded. "How come some people can't touch the rings?"

"I think the more important question in this situation would be how come some people _can_?" Sonic paused. "Tails and I are what you call Chaos Users, and we can absorb Chaos Energy. At first, we thought we were the only ones who could, but then we met Knuckles. Of course, he lives around the Master Emerald, and is used to it. It's still a wonder why Amy can use the Energies, and Cream… well she's _special_. She's doubly gifted in the Chaos Powers."

"What," April asked again, "exactly happens when you touch a ring?" She slammed her hand on the red switch on top of one of the Boxes, and ten golden circlets bounced out and scattered all over the floor.

Sonic yelped as the distinctive _poomph_ of a ring box opening met his ears and he jumped onto the chair he was standing by with a small amount of dignity. Around him, the rings spun and moved slowly towards him as if he were a magnet.

He was about to scold her for the unexpected movement, when a bell sounded from the direction of door. Sonic winced as the voice that followed met his ears.

"Hey, Sonic! Look what they gave me for helping!"

Tails skittered into the room a little too quickly for his feet to allow and he went face first into the floor. There was a small _ching_ as he landed on a ring and it disappeared.

"That…" Sonic paused for effect, "is what happens when one of us touches a ring."

Suddenly, Tails shot up, his ears and fur standing straight on end as the small energy high from the ring coursed through his small body. His eyes were wide as he stared at the blue one.

"Sonic! The hardware store gave a new screwdriver for helping them!" His voice was extremely high pitched and super fast. Sonic had to switch his ears to supersonic mode to catch it all.

"_It's Tails!"_

Suddenly, the small boy rabbit was across the room and scooping Tails' hand in his own. The fox stared at the twelve year old with something akin to awe as he took in the reverent shine in his eyes.

"OhmiChaos! It's Tails! I'm you're biggest fan! I love how you fly around and help Sonic beat Eggman!"

"Oh…" Suddenly, Tails' energy high wore off as quickly as it had hit, but a stupid smile graced his face as he looked up at Tobias. "It's great to meet'cha! I'm Tails Prower!"

Tobias – who looked like he was having a miniature heart attack – stuttered out his answer. "I'm Tobias. Is it true that you grew up in Emerald Hill Zone?"

Instantaneously, the fox's face fell and he looked down at his feet. Sonic, who noticed his brother's plight, zoomed to the rescue in the form of a subject change.

"So, I see you found the first of the rings, bro. What say you help us gather up the rest of theme so we can separate them?" As he was talking, April walked up with two pairs of Chaos Gloves and handed them to both of the visitors.

Before either of them could put the gloves on, there was a tremendous crash from outside.

"Oooohhhh, Sooooniiiiic!" An obnoxious voice swept through the small shop making Sonic and Tails cringe in pain. As each flattened their ears, Tails (who was pressing his so hard into his head Sonic was sure there would be permanent indentations) looks at Sonic, blue eyes wide.

"What's _he_ doing here!?" the kistune whined.

"Wrecking general havoc as usual. Nothing new really," Sonic commented offhandedly. "Seriously, the guy's gotta one-track-mind.*"

Tails glanced around at the rings. "I guess it's a good thing we came across a supply of these, then."

Sonic nodded before rushing forward to pound the buttons on two more ring boxes. The containers made high pitched _dings_ and released twenty rings into the atmosphere. By this point, there were twenty-nine rings littering the floor. Almost immediately, the rings began to subtly inch towards either Sonic or Tails. "So. Fifteen each, li'l bro'?" the hedgehog asked with a smirk.

"Fifteen, bro'." Tails smirked back.

In an instant, the two shot around the room like pinballs, collecting rings and gaining speed with each ring grabbed. Before April or Tobias could comment they shot out the door.

--

The fight followed the regular pattern, with Sonic and Robotnik trading the usual insults and Tails trying to find a weakness in his newest machine.

This one was of a simple design, with bumpers lining every possible space except the windshield – which made the translucent glass the obvious target. But, before Sonic could jump towards his target, Eggman would always stop him by throwing random electrical currents. **

The battle seemed to reach its climax however, when the good doctor managed to get a jump on Tails as he was sneaking around his backside – who knew the 'bot could _swivel_? – and grabbed him in a giant claw that seemed to come from nowhere. Tails yelped loudly as the claw crushed his rib cage and he lost almost all of his ability to breathe.

Sonic, who was by this time, completely pissed off at the turn of events, was ready to kill Eggman for _touching_ his little brother. He made to leap across the top of the lower buildings to better reach the fiend when Tails yelped again.

When he eventually got to a roof that was on level to the robot, he bent his legs and prepared to leap at the doctor's smug looking mug. Suddenly, two covered arms snaked their way around Sonic's waist effectively stopping the hedgehog in his tracks.

"Whoa, Sonic!" came an eerily familiar voice. "Don't do anything you'll regret later!"

"Yeah, right! What I won't regret is punching that bastard's nose in!"

"Well, if that's how you feel, then _I_ won't regret doing _this_!"

Suddenly, Sonic felt a sharp jolt in his neck. Then, his world went black.

--

"_Sonic… Sonic, it's me. Get up_!"

When Sonic next awoke, the first thing he saw was a fuzzy image of his little brother. "TAILS!" He was up in a flash.

Sonic started to buzz around Tails like a demented bee. He inspected every inch of the little fox: inside his ears, under his arms, up his nose, and between his fingers. "Anything broken? Got a fever? Anything hurt? LEMME CHECK YOUR PULSE!*" Sonic pressed his fingers into Tails' throat.

The kit glanced to the side. "What did you _do_ to him!?"

"When you hang around Espio, you learn where your pressure points are." There was a smirk in the voice.

The blue one twisted around in shock to stare at the owner of the voice. It was the stranger from before.

Taking off his hat and jacket, he held up a hand in greeting while the other was tossing the blue Chaos Emerald up and down idly. "Glad to see that you still know who I am; It's been a while."

"_MIGHTY_!?"

--

*if you can guess where this is from you get a cookie. C:

** I have been assured (by Kaasuten) that you can, in fact, throw electrical currents.

**--**

**And, here's where we take a small leap from the actual game timeline and cannon. Mighty's just too awesome to pass up, and he's able to fit seemingly inside the plot. But, don't get too twisted up about us changing something. He's gonna disappear after a while. We'll get back to the exact plot after we get a little exposition done. (Can you say 'plot device'?)**

**Next chapter we get into the actual game levels and platforming. It'll probably be a while until the next chapter, mainly because we have a lot of game playing and bunch'a notes to take. **

**PLEASE REVIEW! Reviews are a lifeline for writers. We've only gotten four reviews for two chapters so far, and that's pretty suckish. So, please, review… We beg of you!**

**Now, as an extra cheat, as we were writing this chapter, we had a few misspeaks while brainstorming. Those, in turn ended up being transported into the story, but they didn't fit and it was too long already, so they got cut. Here, we present two **_**DELETED SCENES!**_

--

April: That'll be 32.45 Mobiums.

Sonic: …For _THIRTY_ RINGS!?

April: Gotta make a profit somehow.

Sonic: …But…

Tails: …We only have two Mobiums!

Sonic: …We have two!? Who did you Rick Roll!?

April: Well, then you can't have them.

Sonic: Fine! Then we'll make sure Eggman crushes THIS place FIRST.

--

Sonic: Holy frijoles! He's got Sonic! *point*

Tails-tachi: …

Sonic: *pause* Wait… I'm Sonic… He's got KNUCKLES! *dramatic pointing*

(We were originally gonna have Knugget in here, but we were too lazy to type it out. XD)

(That one was a mistake on Ashurii's part. She freaked out the names.)


End file.
